Title Personnel Administration …...Goryeo dynasty of the format of the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appoint ment' such as the Letter of Appointment

Title <Translated Article> Personnel Administration and Letters ofAppointment during the Goryeo Dynasty

Author(s) YAGI, Takeshi

Citation 東洋史研究 (2006), 64(4): 850-809

Issue Date 2006-03

URL https://doi.org/10.14989/138179

Right

Type Journal Article

Textversion publisher

Kyoto University

"-*i-¥:9;:1iJfJ'E *~+lm;§ *lm% 2006· 3 lmtx:~I ~ IL

850

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION AND LETTERS OF APPOINTMENT

DURING THE GORYEO DYNASTY

YAGI Takeshi

Introduction

In the history and culture of Japan, many objects and words are designated as

"Goryeo" (Koma, Korai). However, in most cases if they are from the period of

antiquity they are related to Goguryeo or Balhae, while if they are of the early

modern period, they are linked to the Joseon dynasty. In contrast, the subject of

this essay, the Goryeo period (918-1392) has left little impact on the vocabulary

of Japan. This is probably a consequence of the fact that while there were in

stances of isolated or intermittent interaction between medieval Japan and Goryeo,

formal diplomatic relations were never established. 1 For this reason, even today

the history of medieval Korea, that is the Goryeo dynasty, has held far less allure

than earlier and later periods.

However, this reflects the view from the island nation of Japan. If one turns

one's gaze to the whole of the contemporaneous East Asian world, Goryeo was

closely involved with the continental dynasties of the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan. In

the face of far greater suffering than Japan, Goryeo survived as nation. In order to

survive in such a challenging international environment, the political institutions of

the Goryeo came to bear the character of a centralized autocracy. However, the

most critical feature of its bureaucratic system was the fact that it developed

largely in emulation of the institutions of the Chinese Tang and Song periods. We

have two classic works on this subject, Byeon Tae-seob jl*~'s History ofPolitical Institutions of the Goryeo Dynasty ~KIE)(rElffJljoc5t:ifJ'E2 and Suto Yoshiyuki J!J%iE Z's The Bureaucratic System of the Goryeo Dynasty ~K ~J1 '§it ffJlj (J) if J'E3.The former tends to emphasize the distinctiveness of the Goryeo bureaucratic

1 Aoyama Koryo WLlJ 0~, NichiRai koshoshi no kenkyu B Hi X i;J; 5t: (J) 1iJf~ (Tokyo: Meijidaigaku bungakubu kenkyfisho, Toyoshi, volume three, 1955); Yi Yeong *~J[, Wako to NichiRaikankeishi 1~7T! t B Hi~m1*5t: (Tokyo: Tokyo daigaku shuppankai, 1999).

2 Byeon Tae-seob jl*~, Goryeo jeongchi jedosa yeongu ~&IEti5flJIjOC5t:1iJf3'E (Seoul: Ilchogak,1971).

3 Suto Yoshiyuki J!J~EZ, Koraicho kanryosei no kenkyu ~Hi~}J'§1lfIJlj (J)1iJf~ (Tokyo: Hoseidaigaku shuppankyoku, 1980).

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system whereas the latter stresses commonalities with the Tang, and especially

the Song, systems.

One of the most central research questions related to the Goryeo bureaucrat

ic system is elucidating the precise conditions of the Korean reception of the Tang

and Song bureaucratic systems and how those systems were put into use. Itwould be hard to conclude that past research has provided a thorough examination

of either the documentary evidence or the operation of the documentary adminis

tration as seen through the format of those documents. However, the consider

able body of research by Japanese scholars on the Tang period bureaucratic

appointment system and Japan's strong tradition of the study of ancient documents

offer important insights for understanding the Goryeo bureaucratic system.

With the discovery of the Dunhuang documents in 1900, twentieth century

Oriental Studies progressed markedly. Early on, such Japanese scholars as Niida

Noboru 1=#H3~jt, Naito Kenkichi pqji.~Z:E, and Oba Osamu *)}!1If examined

the contents of the "orders of bureaucratic appointment" i!f~ from the Tang, one

of the variety of documents discovered among the Dunhuang materials. More re

cently, Nakamura Hiroichi q::t ift 1ft~ has also produced a series of articles on

these documents. 4 Their outstanding work has illuminated the actual operation of

the system of personnel administration %~~ during the Tang period.

After the fall of the Tang dynasty, the Goryeo dynasty maintained the Tang's

political institutions; it too issued letters of appointment upon the occasion of offi

cials' appointment or dismissal. Although they have not garnered the kind of world

attention that the Dunhuang documents have, a number of Goryeo period letters

of appointment have survived. Is the Goryeo period administrative personnel sys

tem as revealed through these materials the same in fact as that of the Tang

dynasty?

It is well-known that the Three Departments (Department of Secretariat,

Chancellery, and State Affairs) exercised a profound influence on not only suc

ceeding Chinese dynasties but also the administrative systems of Korea and other

surrounding countries. It is without question that the Tang's administrative evalua-

4 Niida Noboru 1=#E8~i:, T8 S8 h8yitsu monjo no kenkyu J8*1:1ifJt=8=0)1i1fJi: (Tokyo: Tohobunka gakuin Tokyo kenkyfisho, 1937); Naito Kenkichi pg~~E, "To no sansho" J8 0) :=: ~,"Tonko shutsudo no To kitoi Shin Gen kokushin" ~5c ti l:B ± 0) J8 ,~% tt~ ~t~ 5C -a- ~, in author'sChugoku h8seishi k8sh8 9=' ~ 1:1 fIJlJ 5t:~ gi[ (Tokyo: Yfihikaku, 1962); Oba Osamu :*~ 1r1f, "Tokokushin no komonjogakuteki kenkyfi" in Saiiki bunka kenkyfikai, ed., Saiiki bunka kenkyu E9:l:9XJt1t1i1fJi: (Kyoto: Saiiki bunka kenkyfikai, 1960); Nakamura Hiroichi 9='*t*fr~ T8dai seichoku kenkyuJ81i:fIJlJwx1i1fJi: (Tokyo: Kyfiko shoin, 1991).

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tion and orders of appointment deeply influenced the Goryeo system. To simply

note that the Goryeo system owed much to the Tang, however, is not enough. In

order to understand the similarities and differences of the Tang and Goryeo ad

ministrative systems and to shed light on the defining characteristics of the Ko

rean bureaucratic system, the most critical task now is to reconstruct the actual

operation of the administrative evaluation system based on the extant orders of

appointment documents.

In contrast to Japan's strong tradition of the study of ancient documents in

the field of Chinese history, research on Korean historical documents, whether in

Korea or Japan, has been less vibrant. That being said, we do have some pre

liminary studies by Han Sang-jun ~~§1~ and Jang Dong-ik **_.5 More recently

they have been joined by the major work, Documentary Studies from Ancient and

Medieval Korea ~ilt!l1t~-tltt!lJt:;:;pffJE, edited by No Myeong-ho JII3j]~iWi.6

Drawing on previous scholarship, this essay offers my insights into materials

related to the letters of appointments. In tracing the evolution of Goryeo's

appointment system, I have tried to base myself as much as possible on the let

ters of appointment themselves.

5 Han Sang-jun and Jang Dong-ik, "Andong jibang e jeollaedoen Goryeo gomunseo chillye geomto" ~*:f:-Ih:1J~l ;zJ ~ ~ ?§tjS ilJt. -t1JU :t!~t, Gyeongbuk daehakkyo nonmunjip Jil~t*~tX:5mJ

Jt. (inmun-sahoe gwahak) 33 (1982); Jang Dong-ik, "Haesim ui daeseonsa gosin e daehan geomto" It:~fk9-1 *Ji\iamE~~l ~ ~ :t!'Bt, Han'guksa yeongu ¥.¥i15e.1iffJ'E 34 (1981); "Gim bu ui cheksangbu go e daehan il geomto" ~1t9-1 fflf615(~!~l ~ ~ -:t!~t, Yeoksa gyoyuk nonjip )If5e.~x1'f

5mJ. 3 (1982).The essay jointly authored by Han and Jang is only a preliminary introduction, but it is ex

tremely important in its call to examine the institution of royal proclamations .=E B (such asImperial/Royal Order gg/~X, *5c/~X, Royal Comment flt, Royal Judgment *U) in the context ofthe government documents. My "K6rai 6genk6" ?§tjS.=EB~, Shirin 5e.1* 77.1 (1994) follows upon this question and forms a basis of the present essay.

6 No Myeong-ho UlSjj~f3j, compiler, Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu ¥.¥i1il1tq:t-tltilJt.1iffJ'E (Seoul: Seoul daehakkyo chulpanbu, 2000), two volumes.

Chapters two and three of the second volume of this collection, Choe Eon-sik ~ mf} 1~'s"Goryeo sidae gukwang munseo ui jongnyu wa gineung" ?§tjSS:f1t i1.=EJt.9-1 l!~J[~ f~§~ andBak Jae-u ifr$1tJ's "Goryeo sigi ui gosin gwa gwallyo imyong chegye" ?§tjSS:fJJj9-1 E~J!} '§~

1£ ffl fI* are directly relevant to the topic of the present essay. I was unable to consult theseworks in an earlier version of this essay [T8y8shi kenkyu *i-¥: 5e.1iff~ 59.2 (2000)], but have extensively revised this version in light of their conclusions. However, I understand the place of theState Councilors, or the Grand Councilors of the Secretariat-Chancellery, in the personnel appointment system and the orders of appointment during the early Goryeo in fundamentally differentterms from Choe and Bak. In their two essays mentioned above, Choe and Bak do not recognizethe existence of personnel appointment by the State Councilors, while the present essay holds thatthe State Councilors played a critical role.

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Section 1

Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment

In the administrative system of the Tang dynasty, the State Council, or the

Grand Council of the Secretariat-Chancellery ~ =1= F~ T, 7 appointed upper-level

officials, which consisted of officials of the fifth rank and above, with some excep

tions of officials from the sixth rank and below (such as Assistant Section Chiefs of

the Department of State Affairs ~j}a~, Inspectors of the Office of Censors ~~

1~P Je., Imperial Court Attendants 1~~ '§ and others). These were "the regular

participants of court rites" 1t $ '§. Based on the information supplied by the

Boards of Civil and Military Personnel faJ=I=~~:g:~, the State Council compiled a

draft list of appointments. When the Emperor ratified the plans, the appointment

of officials of the fifth rank and above was announced by issuing a Letter of Consti

tutional Appointment ffJljf~1!f ~. Appointment of the rest of the regular participants

from the sixth rank and lower was announced by issuing a Letter of Imperial

Appointment wx~1!f~ .This system of letters of appointment during the Tang dynasty was intro

duced to the Goryeo dynasty. This is clear from the few extant examples from the

Goryeo dynasty of the format of the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appoint

ment' such as the Letter of Appointment for Hyesim a ~~ and the Letter of

Appointment for Kim Bu ~11f.. Elsewhere, I have examined these two documents

in the context of the functions of the old Department of State Affairs Jjt~zp~ and

the old Department of Secretariat pg ~R~ .8 In this section, I analyze the format

and use of the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment.

First, Department of Secretariat drafted the texts of the letters. They

observed the following formats:

"Chancellery... the person in charge should implement [this]."9

"Imperial order... the person in charge should implement [this]. "10

7 The State Council was composed of the Chief Directors of the Departments of Secretariat andChancellery with some officials who served concurrently as State Councilors, so it was called theSecretariat-Chancellery. The early Goryeo dynasty also adopted this system.

S Yagi Takeshi ~*~, "K6rai kokusho no k6hy6sh6 to naigish6" ~MiI*J]O).Bf~ t pqsi~,

Toho gakuho Uournal of Oriental Studies] *JJ¥$~ (Kyoto) 72 (2000).9 F~r ...:±*nlli1To

10 w5c... :±*nlli1To

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The former is the prescribed form of the Letter of Constitutional Appointment,

and the latter is that of the Letter of Imperial Appointment.

Second, the texts produced by the Department of Secretariat were sent to

the Department of Chancellery, which verified them. In the case of the Letter for

Hyesim, after the Chancellery responded to the King, it petitioned that "the case

should be sent to the office in charge for implementation."11 In the case of the

Letter for Kim Bu, the procedure of reporting to the King was omitted and the

case was passed directly to the Department of State Affairs with instructions that

"the Imperial Order was issued as above, so receiving this notice, implement [this

order]. "12 The former is the procedure for issuing the Letters of Constitutional

Appointment, and the latter is the procedure for issuing the Letters of Imperial

Appointment. We can conclude that the latter was easier to issue than the former.

Third, the Department of State Affairs, which was in charge of implementing

Imperial Orders, issued a letter of appointment with a prescribed Notification 1~

and sent it to the appointee, adding the instruction, "We have received the above

Constitutional Order. Implement upon receipt of this Notification"13 or "We have

received the above Imperial order. Implement upon receipt of this Notification. "14

Such were the respective procedures for issuing Letters of Constitutional and Im

perial Appointment.

Therefore the process for issuing the Letter of Appointment for Hyesim and

the Letter of Appointment for Kim Bu is as follows:

a) The Department of Secretariat drafted the letter.

b) The Department of Chancellery checked the draft.

c) The Department of State Affairs implemented the draft and issued

an official letter of appointment.

Thus we can see the Letters of Appointment for Hyesim and Kim Bu were

issued through the three departments. (See fig. 1) We can also see they possess

all the characteristics of the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment.

However, we cannot assume that the system introduced to Goryeo dynasty

functioned the same way as that of the Tang dynasty. In the Tang system, the

Letters of Constitutional Appointment were issued to the officials of the fifth rank

11 fIJljw~DkJ a B~~fIJIL ~ltj}ntl!qT a B:f§" a

12 ~WX~DkJ a ~~$Ij~qT a

13 ~1ltfIJljw~DkJ a 1ff$U~qT a

14 ~WX~DkJ a 1ff$U~qT a

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Fig. 1. Flow of the Orders (type 1)

Secretary Making a Draft:

___________=__:!i:~~---~~----~:~:~il-----::r~~~=~~e=e ~~~~:~-=--------------Board of : Dept.of Dept.of : Dept.of Appointment by

L....-_--1 ~:u:c~VY - Secretariat >- Chancellery~ State Affairs ~~:~~~~e~r

and above, whereas the Letters of Imperial Appointment were issued to the rest

of the regular participants of court rites who were of the sixth rank and below.

Choe Rae ~~~, a famous Goryeo literatus during the period of subordination

to the Mongol Empire, edited an anthology entitled the Works of the Literati of the

Eastern Kingdom: A Selection of Works Composed in Four and Six Character

Rhymes "* A z)(· II9 -A. This work preserves several examples of letters of

appointment that include the text itself but omit the prescribed form of the issuing

procedure. This work shows that with the exception of royal clansmen and Bud

dhist priests, the Letters of Constitutional Appointment were only issued to the

State Councilors. They had the fixed formula "Chancellery... the person in charge

should implement [this order]."15 They also had the fixed form, "You are to be

specially appointed to a given post, "16 which meant the appointments were

arranged directly by the King. Attached to these letters of appointment was a

Royal Letter ~.£ _ (a private letter by the King), which made clear that the

appointment was arranged by the King himself.

Choe Ja ~?~, a famous literatus of the Military Dictatorship Period, wrote a

collection of essays entitled A Supplement to While Away the Time *~ ~~, in

which he described the ceremony of appointment, the seon-ma g In. The cere

mony of appointment for the State Councilors was formally held just once a year,

regardless of the frequency of the personnel changes among the State Councilors.

15 F~r ...±*nt!!qTo16 PJ~:ft~ .. ·0

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The letters of ma-je a mU (Constitutional Orders written on hemp paper) to be

read aloud at the court were composed of three parts: the opening and ending

paragraphs contained phrases common to all appointees, while the main paragraph

described the personality and achievement of each appointee individually. When

the ceremony was finished, the official letters of appointment were made and

issued to each appointee. The letters were called Grand Letters of Appointment

*'§~!. Attached to the beginning of each was a Royal Letter, an identical mes

sage to every appointee. 17

The letters of appointment with an attached Royal Letter were only issued to

the officials of the highest rank specially appointed by the King himself. Thus, the

Grand Letters of Appointment described by Choe Ja's must have been the Letters

of Constitutional Appointment that had the fixed form, "Chancellery...you are to

be specially appointed to a certain position... the person in charge should implement [this]. "18

Choe Ja's account says that members of the royal family were not permitted

to join in the ceremony of appointment even if they were appointed by the Grand

Letters of Appointment. Neither were officials from the rank of 3a and above

(such as the Privy Councilors m*, Senior and Chief Directors of the Department

of State Affairs 1l~t" fat:l=, Senior Grand Generals J::~~11[ and so forth) permit

ted to join in the ceremony of appointment. 19 They were to be appointed by Junior

Letters of Appointment IJ" '§~! (see below), which provided that the Chief Privy

Councilor was especially permitted to join in the ceremony and to receive the

Grand Letter of Appointment during the Military Dictatorship period. Thus, we

can conclude that at least in the early period of the Goryeo dynasty, with some

exceptions in the case of royal relatives and Buddhist priests, Letters of Constitu

tional Appointment (or Grand Letters of Appointment *'§~!) were only issued

for personnel changes among State Councilors.

Additionally, the Royal Letters ~x:l=, which were attached to the Grand Let

ters of Appointment, followed a prescribed form. They read, "Royal Ordinance to

a certain person...So here issue this order. I hope you fully understand my

intention. "20 I think this must have been the introduction of the prescribed forms

17 A Supplement to While Away the Time fl§ ~~, 3:10a, contained in Coryeo myeonghyeon jib[Collected Works of famous Goryeo worthies] ?§'i M 1j If~, 5 vols (Seoul: Seonggyun-gwanDaehakkyo Daedong Munhwa Yeonguwon ffl(J~jg*~tX:*JI~:Jt1t1i1f3'E~Jc 1987).

18 F~T···PJ~~f~···±=ttflt!!qT a

19 A Supplement to While Away the Time fl§~~, 3:10a.20 ~~~···~tEilijlF'\ 1Elll:~o~o

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of Imperial Letters w)c_ used during the Tang and Song Dynasties. The Imperial

Letters of China generally had a fixed form that read, "Imperial ordinance to a

certain person...So here issue this Imperial order. I hope you fully understand my

intention."21 Therefore, the forms of Royal Letters in Goryeo must have been

based on the system of Imperial Letters of China, with the modification of the

character for "Imperial" W)c to "Royal" ~Jc.

The decision to replace the character "imperial edict" illj with the character

"royal edict" ~Jc is said to have been made in the fifth year of the reign of King

Seongjong mt* (986) as a mark of respect for the Song Emperor. However, the

Goryeo court later resumed use of the term "imperial edict" illj, which became

common in the royal documents. What was disused was the character w)c, not the

character illj. Thus, the Imperial Letters w)c_ of China were called Royal Letters

~Jc _ in Goryeo. In China, Imperial Letters were generally called His Majesty's

Letters illj_, thus in the Goryeo dynasty, the Royal Letters were also called His

Majesty's Letters illj_ .

Now let us turn to examine the variety of recipients of the Letters of Royal

Appointment, which had a fixed form as follows: "Imperial Order... the person in

charge should implement [this]."

As mentioned above, the Appointment Letter for Kim Bu, issued in the early

years of the Goryeo dynasty, followed the same format as this, but no such exam

ples appear in the Works of the Literati of the Eastern Kingdom: A Selection of

Works Composed in Four and Six Character Rhymes. That is because the charac

ter W)c was replaced with the character ~Jc in the Goryeo dynasty. Thus in the

Goryeo dynasty, what should be called the Letters of Imperial (or Royal) Appoint

ment were those which had the fixed form, "Royal Order... the person in charge

should implement [this]."

Among the materials transcribed in the Works of the Literati of the Eastern

Kingdom: A Selection of Works Composed in Four and Six Character Rhymes, we

can find only two items that observed the fixed form of the Letters of Imperial

Appointment, namely "Appointment Letter for Yun Eon-jik as Chief Director of

the Board of Construction Works" and "Letter for Grandmother Kim of the Queen

Dowager of the Yeon-heung Gung as countess of Hwa-ui County." But we have

already seen in A Supplement to While Away the Time that the officials of rank 3a

21 wx~···~tE§gIF, fJllL~D~o See Guidance to Terminology ~¥Jjl:t§'WJ contained in Yuhai ::f.r4ij:, 202:35a. (a facsimile edition, jointly published by Jiangsu Guji Chubanshe iI]i(i1~tehNffi± andShanghai Shudian lj4ij:.rn, 1987)

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and above were to be appointed with "The Junior Letter of Appointment." Thus,

we can conclude that the "Appointment Letter for Yun Eon-jik as Chief Director of

the Board of Construction Works" meets the conditions for a Junior Letter of

Appointment, because the Chief Director of the Board of Construction Works was

ranked as 3a.

Therefore, the format of "Junior Letters of Appointment" was nothing but

that of the Letters of Imperial Appointment, which read, "Royal Order... the per

son in charge should implement [this]." At least in the early period of the Goryeo

dynasty, Junior Letters of Appointment were issued to officials ranked 3a and

above, namely the Privy Councilors fiW, Senior and Chief Directors of the De

partment of State Affairs 1l ~t~ f5J:;:, Senior Grand Generals 1::~~. and so

forth.

As discussed above, the Goryeo dynasty clearly did use the format of the

Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment of the Tang dynasty China.

However, they were issued to a far narrower range of recipients in the Goryeo

dynasty: the letters of Constitutional Appointment were issued for personnel

changes among the State Councilors, and the Letters of Royal Appointment were

issued for personnel changes of the officials ranked 3a and above, excluding the

State Councilors. Furthermore, they were issued only once a year during the

annual personnel changes, usually held in the twelfth month of lunar calendar.

Thus, we can say that the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment were

just special marks of honor, which were granted exclusively to the highest rank of

officials (3a and above).

Section 2Notice of Constitutional Appointment from the State Council and Notice

of Royal Appointment from the Board of Civil Personnel

The letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment were issued only to the

uppermost officials, those ranked 3a and above. What kind of letters did the rest

of the bureaucracy receive? In this case too, materials preserved in Choe Hae's

Works of the Literati of the Eastern Kingdom provide helpful information.

Recently I received a Notice of Constitutional Appointment from the

State Council, which states that I was appointed, by His Majesty's favor,

as Second Remonstrator of major sixth rank, holding the office of Draft

ing Secretary concurrently. Such prestigious positions have suddenly

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been extended to me who lacks talents. I only fear that I will fail to per

form my duties properly. 22

Recently I received a Notice of Royal Appointment from the Board of

Civil Personnel, which states that I was tentatively appointed, by His

Majesty's favor, as Attendant of the Gate of the Inner Court. [His Maj

esty's] benevolence was expanded from the zenith and reached [even] to

me at its nadir; I was ordered to be one of the Assistants of Master of

Ceremony in the Court, taking up this honorable position on a trial basis.

I fear in my heart that the duty exceeds my ability and it merely in

creases my sense of inability. 23

Recently I received a Notice of Royal Appointment from the Board of

Civil Personnel, which states that in addition to my original position, I

was appointed, by His Majesty's favor, as Duty Member of the Royal

Academy of Literature. [His Majesty's] benevolence was extended from

the golden palace and reached [even] to this foolish and unworthy [servi

tor]. I was allowed to join the Academy without good reason and sudden

ly came to keep company with prominent scholars. As the duty is

beyond my ability, my fears only increase without [end].24

The above are the letters of thanks of Bak Ho tr i!, a literatus during the

reign of King Suk-jong :11* (1095-1105). Bak presented these letters to the king

to express his gratitude upon assuming his posts. From these letters of apprecia

tion we can see that the notification of appointment was done through a Notice of

Constitutional Appointment from the State Council in the first case and a Notice of

Royal Appointment from the Board of Civil Personnel in the second and third

cases.

In the administrative system of the Tang dynasty, letters of appointment

were issued from the Board of Civil or Military Personnel in a prescribed form

called fu 1~ or Notification. However, Bak's letters of notification were issued in

the format of a Notice #~, which differed from the Notification 1~ of the Tang

dynasty. The Notice #~ refers to letters that were transmitted between public

22 WLEK (Works of the Literati of the Eastern Kingdom), 11:23b-24b, contained in Coryeo

myeonghyeon jib [Collected Works of famous Goryeo worthies] ~m~'ii•.23 WLEK 12:2b-3a24 WLEK 12:3a-4a

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offices, so it seems likely that the Notice of Constitutional Appointment mU~~ was

issued by the State Council, which received and transmitted the king's order. The

Notice of Royal Appointment ~j(~~ was issued by the Board of Civil Personnel,

which likewise received and then transmitted the king' order (perhaps through the

State Council).

In what form were they issued? Here we may draw upon the work of Naka

mura Hiroichi, who has examined the format of the Notice of Imperial Order WX~~

of the Tang period. 25

Notice from the State Council to (a given person).

Notice: We received an Imperial Order (as below). Follow the Imperial

Order as soon as you receive this notice. Thus we send this notice.

Notice on the (Year, Month, Day)

Signatures of the State Councilors (position, family name and fIrstname)26

The Notice of Imperial Order was issued by the State Council, which re

ceived and transmitted the Imperial Order. Thus when considering the format of

the Notice of Constitutional Appointment during the Goryeo dynasty, we should

refer to the Notice of Imperial Order.

Nakamura has shown that there was a variant of the Notice of Imperial

Order, issued from the Department of State Affairs which received and transmit

ted the Notice of Imperial Order from the State Council. As samples of this,

Nakamura offered materials from the writing of the famous Buddhist priest

Bukong /f 2, such as A Notice of Imperial Order from the Section of Religious

Rites (of the Board of Rites in the Dept. of State Affairs) f5J _ffi~ ~~WX~~. In this

document, Bukong successfully petitioned for seven monks to be appointed as

priests on the birthday of the Emperor.

(a) In regard to the case mentioned above, Bukong, the priest of Xing

shansi Temple ~~~ requested the following...

(b) Notice from State Council to the Section of Religious Rites.

Notice: We received an Imperial Order, stating, "Do as requested"

...Follow the Imperial Order as soon as you receive this notice ...Thus

25 Nakamura Hiroichi 9=tfttfr- Todai seichoku kenkyu m1i:jjJlJwfliff5'E, pp. 513-545.26 The original text in Classical Chinese is as follows: 9=t:l=rrF '\ Jll~o Jllo ~wx···Jll~{twxo

~twXo ~Ji B 0 Jllo $if§J!.,§M:~ 0

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we send this notice.

Notice on the second year of the Guangde JJt1~ reign period (764), the

tenth lunar month, nineteenth day.

Vice-Director of the Department of Secretariat, State Councilor Du

Hongjian t±~~~!fJT

Vice-Director of the Department of Secretariat, State Councilor Yuan Zai

5GftVice-Director of the Department of Chancellery, State Councilor Wang

-=:E (dispatched)

Honorary Chief Director of the Department of Chancellery Li * (dis

patched)

Honorary Senior Director of the Department of State Affairs, State

Councilor (dispatched)

Grand General, the Chief Director of the Department of Secretariat (dis

patched)

(c) Notice from the Section of Religious Rites to Bukong.

Notice: We received a Notice of Imperial Order from the State Council

as above. Follow the Imperial Order as soon as you receive this notice.

So we send this notice.

Notice on the second year of the Guangde reign period, the tenth

lunar month, nineteenth day.

Section chief Chief clerk / Clerk27

In the document above, the summary of Bukong's letter in which he re

quested the appointment of seven monks as priests was cited in Part A. Next, the

State Council received the Imperial Order and transmitted it to the Section of Re

ligious Rites of the Department of State Affairs in Part B. Finally, in Part C, the

Section of Religious Rites, which oversaw appointment of Buddhist priests, acted

on the request, following the Notice of Imperial Order from the State Council. In

short, these were the procedures for issuing the Emperor's approval for an

appointment through the State Council to the office in charge, who would imple-

27 The original passages in Classical Chinese are as follows: (a) ...k:i0 J@.~:~f<=:jGij;F~/G~*,

···0 (b) 9='.F~r, ~~ffiPJ:g:Bo ~~o ~WXo 1L1t(0 ~~~{IWXo ~t~~o Jj{1~=~+ Jj +JL B0 9='.1;j:a~zp:~$-r±1~ifJTo 9='.1;j:a~zp:~$-5t~0 NF~1;j:a~zp:~$-:=E 1~0 1!1x1;j:9='$ 1~0 1!t~k:i1l~t

ZP:~$- 1~0 idffit~9='.% 1~0 (c) f6t.ffiPJ:g:B, ~~=jG/G~o ~~o ~9='.F~rwx~~, ~ok:io ~~

~~~o~~oJj{~=~+Jj+JLB,~o

[ffiPJ:g:Ba~9='~J %9::/:1:$-0

- 12-

II Ii


838

ment the order. We can use what we know of these Tang procedures in our

efforts to restore the format of the Notice of Royal Appointment from the Board

of Civil Personnel during the Goryeo dynasty.

Furthermore, we are fortunate that a document with nearly all features of the

format of the Notice of Imperial Order WX#~ has been preserved among the certi

fications of those who passed the civil service examination, the Red Warrants *Jh~.

By Sanction of Royal Order you are appointed as a successful candidate

of the third rank ~*it&*.

Immediately upon receipt of this notification, obey the Royal Order.

Thus, we have issued this notice.

Notice on the fifth year of Taehwa ~5fD (1205), the fourth lunar month,

a certain day.

Associate State Councilor, Wang

Vice-Director of the Department of Chancellery, State Councilor, 1m

Vice-Director of the Department of Chancellery, Senior State Councilor,

Choe


Gi


Choe28

In last section of the Red Warrant for lang Yang-su *.&~*Jh~ cited above,

we can see the format "Immediately upon receipt of this notification, obey the

Royal Order... Thus, we have issued this notice ...Notice on Year / Month /

Day." There follows the signatures of the State Councilors. They conform perfect

ly to the prescribed format of the Notice of Imperial Order during the Tang dynas

ty. Thus, the form of this document was undoubtedly introduced from the Tang

Notice of Imperial Order, with the proviso that the character "Imperial" WX was

replaced with the character "Royal" ~~.

28 The original text in Classical Chinese reads as follows: ~~PJ~*4&*0 JI~t~{I~~o iitJllo ~

5fD1i:¥GftlmJi BJllo ~~:7't1il*:k~, $~OI&~, :k-f-Y1f.ro F~r1;fa~zp:~~, llJtM:k¥±,fPJ1r~i19:, 1±i1, *lJpg:~~1l:0 F~r1;fa~, fPJg::t.F~rzp:~~, ~g:~fi5l., L1±i1, L~~1/[, *IJ~g:~1~P9:.~~0 F~r1;fa~, fPJg::t.F~rzp:~~, L1±i1, L~~1/[, ~11~i19:, *lJff!lg:~~*o F~

r1;fa~, fPJ g::t.F~rzp:~~, 11~Jt~:k¥±, ~11~i19:, L1±i1, *1J~g:~~~0 See NoMyeong-ho 1t:S)j~~, compiler, Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu ~i1i11-tg::t-tlti1Jt.1iff5'E,

volume one, pp. 53-55.

- 13-

II Ii


837

However, because there are missing fragments in the beginning of the docu

ment, some sentences are difficult to decipher. They are as follows:

the above person, Jang Yang-su, (...)

the Center of the Civil Service Examination (...)by Royal judgment (... )29

Therefore, it was Center for Civil Service Examinations (i.e. the Board of Rites)

rather than the State Council that drafted this plan. It presented the list of suc

cessful examination candidates to the King. After receiving the Royal Judgment ~U

of approval, the case was sent to the State Council, bearing the king's command,

"the Royal Order permitted as a successful candidate of the third rank." If this is

so, this would seem to belong to the second type of the Notice of Imperial Order.

Therefore, the Notice was not directly issued from the State Council to Jang

Yang-su, but was issued through the Board of Rites, which was in charge of the

civil service examination. However, the original document is in extremely poor

condition and a portion of the latter half of the document is missing (or was omit

ted in the process of transcription).

Again, it is worth noting that the document contains the phrase "Royal Order

permitted as" ~~ PJ. According to an epitaph reproduced in the Compendium ofFunerary Inscriptions of the Goryeo DynastY,30 Yu Bang-heon 1PP~~~ passed a civil

service examination of the Board of Rites ffll:g:~ g~ as a local candidate (hyanggong

jinsa ~@~Jt~±) and was appointed as Erudite of Literature J&Jttf± by Sanction

of Imperial Order w)cPJ in the twenty-third year of the reign of King Gwangjong 7t* (972). At the time Yu was twenty-nine years old. He then held a series of posi

tions (Librarian of the Royal Library 7t Jt t1:1= ~~, Senior Librarian of the same

Royal Library 7tJt~~, Chief Secretary of the National Academy ~-=f±rf, Er

udite of the Metropolitan Academy in charge of Popular Instruction Il9 F~ tf±) be

fore being appointed Assistant Section Chief of the Department of State Affairs 1~P

$- iD p] ~ j} ~~ by Sanction of Constitutional Order flJlj PJ in the year of the en

thronement of the King Gyeongjong ~* (981).

At first glance, the Sanctions of Constitutional or Imperial Order flJlj PJ" w)cPJbring to mind the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment during the

29 The original phrases in Classical Chinese are as follows: kJA7.&.5t~ .../ ffit ~1CpJf .../ *IJ <X~ti· ..30 Gim Yongseon ~fi~ ~, ed. Goryeo myojimyeong jibseong ~R .£ ~,t ~~ #: ft\t [Compendium of

Funerary Inscriptions of the Goryeo Dynasty], (Chuncheon: Hallim Daehakkyo chulpanbu, 1997,second edition), pp. 16-18.

- 14-

II Ii


836

Tang dynasty. However, the position of Assistant Section Chief ~j}~~, to which

he was appointed by a Sanction of Constitutional Order flJlj 11J, was ranked 6a,

which meant that he counted among the ranks of the regular participants of court

rites. The position of Erudite of Literature J)(xtf±, to which he was appointed

by Sanction of Imperial Order WX 11J, put him among the ranks of the lower-level

officials (the irregular participants of court rites). Yu's positions clearly do not fall

within the range of posts that were appointed through Letters of Constitutional or

Imperial Appointment of the Tang administrative system.

If it is the case that the Goryeo court did replace the character "Imperial"

with the character "Royal," it may be that the phrase "Sanction of Constitutional

or Imperial Order designates an appointment by the Notice of Constitutional

Appointment from the State Councilor the Notice of Royal Appointment from the

Board of Civil Personnel, respectively. Additionally, the Notice of Constitutional

Appointment from the State Council contains the phrase "position granted by sanc

tion of Constitutional Order," flJlj11J~~iX and the Notice of Royal Appointment from

the Board of Civil Personnel contains the phrase "position granted by Sanction of

Royal Order" ~~11J~~iX.

Therefore in the case of the appointment of Bak Ho iff' i,* (whose letters of

gratitude to the throne were cited above) as Second Remonstrator 15 fir jI (rank

6a), which was announced by Notice of Constitutional Appointment from the State

Council, the draft plan of appointment was made by the State Councilors on the

basis of the information provided by the Board of Civil Personnel. The draft plan

ratified by the King was probably sent back to the State Council with the Sanction

of Constitutional Order flJlj 11J before it was issued from the State Council in the

form of the Notice of Constitutional Appointment ~:;:r~TflJlj~~. The State Coun

cil issued the appointment document because it had been based on the State

Council's draft plan.

Again, in the case of the appointments of Bak Ho as an Attendant of the Gate

of the Inner Court and as Duty Member of Royal Academy of Literature, positions

that were confirmed by Notice of Royal Appointment from the Board of Civil Per

sonnel, the proposals for appointment were made by the Board of Civil Personnel.

The Board of Civil Personnel supervised the personnel administration of lower

level officials and presented its suggestions through the State Council to the King.

Approved by the King, the proposal was returned through the State Council to the

Board of Civil Personnel with a Sanction of Royal Order ~~11J. At that point, the

confirmation was issued from Board of Civil Personnel in the form of the Notice of

Royal Appointment f5J:;: ~ :g:~ ~~ ~~. The Board of Civil Personnel issued the

- 15-

II Ii


835


SecretaryBoard of-the PrivyCouncil

- StateCouncil

Making a Draft ofUpper-level Appointment

Two

State Boards, Making a Draft of~ Council Lower-level Appointment

Secretary1....------1 Board of '_ State ~' Issuing a Notice of

the Privy Council Constitutional ApointmentCouncil

State!- Council

Two

Boards, Issuing a Notice of

-i::,,.....<......-~_t:_~e_t.O_f----lRoyal Appointment_ Mfairs

II

appointment document, because it had been based on a proposal by the Board of

Civil Personnel. (See fig.2.)

One might ask at this point why these orders of appointment were not issued

in the form of Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment.

According to the records of the Chinese dynastic chronicle, A New History ofthe Five Dynasties, the cost of materials needed to produce the letters of appoint

ment (red lacquer as dyestuff, papers, and the axis of the scroll) were collected

from the appointee before the Board of Personnel made and issued the letters of

appointment. The poor who could not bear the expenses often did not receive offi

cialletters of appointment. They made do with the Notice of Imperial Appointment

Wx ~~ as a certificate. 31 Therefore, the announcement of appointment made by

31 A detailed description may be found in Xin Wudaishi *JT 1i1-t 5t: [A New History of the FiveDynasties], juan 55, "The biography of Liu Yue ~~ -ffi," (revised and punctuated edition, Peking:Zhonghua Shuju 9='••fiU, 1974), pp. 631-632.

- 16-

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834

issuing the Notice of Imperial Appointment began as a temporary expedient. The

official Letters of Appointment were to be made later and issued through the

Three Departments in the format of the Notification 1~. But making the letters of

appointment, which were bound as scrolls, proved expensive. In the end, the tem

porary announcement issued as the Notice of Imperial Appointment became for all

intents and purposes the official announcement.

Perhaps the prescribed forms of the Notice of Constitutional or Royal

Appointment during the Goryeo dynasty were also introduced from the systems of

the late Tang or the Five Dynasties as shown above.

Section 3Notice of Call to Court

The Notice of Constitutional or Royal Appointment was merely a provisional

document that reported the fact of appointment. Even this provisional document,

however, was not always issued to all civil and military officials. For example,

according to his epitaph that is reproduced in the Compendium of Funerary Inscriptions of the Coryeo Dynasty, Wang Hyo I11#: (the younger brother of King Ye

jong ~*) was appointed by various procedures as follows:

In the twelfth lunar month of the sixth year of King Yejong (1111), [His

Majesty] ordered the Department of Chancellery to issue the Letter of

Appointment, saying... 32

In the third lunar month of the seventeenth year of King Yejong

(1122) ... [His Majesty] ordered the Department of Chancellery to issue

the Letter of Appointment, saying... Additionally, His Majesty issued the

Royal Letter, saying... 33

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month of this year (the seventh

year of King Injong 1=* 1129), [His Majesty] bestowed a Royal Comment to appoint him as ... 34

32 CFI, pp. 185-188. 1&$+=Ji, ilJF~T, ~~'§~1!fEl, ...33 :=:Ji, ilJFrr, ~~~1!fEl···ffT~~E1,

34 1&$+=JiDJLB, Tilt, ~ ...

- 17-

II Ii


833

From the first example, we can surmise that he was appointed by a Junior

Letter of Appointment IJ,'§§1!f. From the second example, we can surmise that he

was appointed by the Grand Letters of Appointment --}( '§ §1!f with an attached

Royal Letter. The third example suggests that he was appointed by a Royal Com

ment rfIt. However, the phrase "Royal Comment" does not appear in the format

of Letters of Constitutional/Imperial Appointment f1Jljt~, WJct~ 15-~ or the Notice

of Constitutional/Royal Appointment f1Jlj ~*, ~!{ ~*. Therefore, appointment by

Royal Comment must have been issued through a different procedure from those

we have seen before.

Again, according to his epitaph, Kim Sun ~ *II! was appointed by a Royal

Judgment *U as an unranked officer ~~lE in the fourteenth year of the reign of

King Uijong ~* (1160) and was appointed as an officer of the ninth rank :,fj()ff-j, of

the eighth rank #xffil, and of the seventh rank lJlj ~~ before he was appointed by a

Royal Comment fit as an officer of junior fifth rank 11~e~~~, concurrently holding

the post of commander of a military force ~J[. in the fourth year of the reign of

King Myeongjong ~* (1174).35

We can find many examples of appointment by Royal Comment or Royal

Judgment, especially in the records of the later period of the Goryeo dynasty. For

instance, in 1308 Yi Hun $'11 and other court aides of the Shenyang Prince 11 ~J1J

.3:. returned from the Yuan capital of Dadu. They brought with them a plan for

governmental restructuring and a list of appointments by Royal Comment and

Royal Judgment drafted by the Shenyang Prince36 (or King Chungseon ,~, g.3:.,who at that time seized real power and soon ascended to the throne of Goryeo).

We can find further details of appointment from the Records of the Adminis

trative Career IE)(~ of Jeong In-gyeong ~~1=9~D and Yi Ja-su $'-=f111l. 37 These re

cords clearly show that the order of appointment for high officials was issued by

Royal Comment r fit, while the written appointment of lower-level officials was

issued by Royal Judgment *U.Royal Comment and Royal Judgment undoubtedly refer to the king's order.

Royal Comment and Royal Judgment in theory implied the king's approval of a cer

tain case, not an order by His Majesty's initiative. Thus, Royal Comment and

Royal Judgment may be considered royal orders of approval for proposals drafted

by the State Councilor the Two Boards regarding the personnel changes of upper

35 CFI, pp. 283-285.36 Goryeo-sa [Official History of the Goryeo Dynasty], hereafter abbreviated as GS, 32:34a37 Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 70-84, 87-90.

- 18-

II Ii


832

or lower-level officials, respectively. However, the reason why they were not call

ed Constitutional or Imperial/Royal Orders was that only the orders issued

through the State Council could be called Constitutional or Imperial/Royal Order.

Conversely, we can say that the order of Royal Comment or Royal Judgment was

a provisional one that bypassed the State Council. Thus they could not be called

Constitutional or Imperial/Royal Order.

In reality, the following descriptions from the Official History of the GoryeoDynasty ~ Jig 5t: provide clear evidence that the order of Royal Comment was

directly issued to the Board of Civil or Military Personnel, not through the State

Council.

When he appointed officials, King Myeongjong himself selected candi

dates of the regular participants of court rites, only discussing the matter

with his personal favorites and aides at the court. After selecting the offi

cials, he sealed the draft plan and sent it directly to the Board of Civil or

Military Personnel. That was called "issuing the Royal Comment" rtlt.Receiving the draft plan, the Two Boards merely transcribed it without

discussing the plan's appropriateness. People sought posts and bribes

were openly offered, so the wise and foolish were mixed in thegovernment. 38

The State Council originally oversaw the drafting of proposals for personnel

changes among the upper-level officials. However, King Myeongjong, who came

to the throne through the 1170 Rebellion of Military Officers, curtailed the powers

of the State Council. In consultation with members of his entourage and court

aides, the King compiled lists of potential appointees himself and issued them

directly to the Board of Civil or Military Personnel. In this way, the king issued

his Royal Comment directly to the Board of Civil or Military Personnel. It seems

likely that the king's Royal Judgment (King's approval of the Two Boards' person

nel proposals) was also issued directly to the Two Boards.

According to standard procedure at that time, the content of Royal Comment

or Royal Judgment should have been reported to the State Council. If it was an

important item, the Notice of Constitutional or Royal Appointment would be

issued. For less important items, however, the official procedures were skipped,

and the order was sent directly to the Two Boards as a Royal Comment or Judg-

38 GS, 20:18a

- 19-

II Ii


831


SecretaryBoard of-the PrivyCouncil

State-Council

State

!~ Council

TwoBoards,Dept.ofStateMfairs


Making a Draft ofLower-level Appointment

RoyalComment

SecretaryBoard of

L.....-----I the Privy Io--T+------+---I

Council

RoyalJudgment



Issuing a Notification ofRoyal Comment

Issuing a Notification ofRoyal Judgment

II

ment, without passing through the State Council. (See fig. 3.) It was just an expe

dient practice for items of minor significance. However, King Myeongjong misused

this custom to overstep his authority, and it became a usual practice during the

late Goryeo period.

Exactly what procedures were used to issue a Royal Comment or Royal Judg

ment and what were their specific formats? The Record of the Administrative

Career of Jeong In-gyeong ~~ 1= gep 1&~ sheds critical light on two patterns of

appointment during the Goryeo period.

1) The Warrant of Call to Court ~fJ ~~j 83 was issued and received, by

the Notice of Yi Seung-han, clerk of the Office of Censors, on a certain

day of the seventh lunar month of the eleventh year of the reign of Won

jong (1270), regarding the order of Royal Judgment to the proposal of

- 20-

Ii


830

the Board, issued on a certain day of the seventh month in 1270, trans

ferring Jeong In-gyeong from the Officer of ninth rank under the com

mand of General Baek Hwa to Officer of junior eighth rank under the

command of General Hong Sin. Implement [this order].39

2) The Warrant of Call to Court was issued and received, by the

Notice of Bak Seon, clerk of the Office of Censors, on a certain day of

the second month in 1278, regarding the order of Royal Comment issued

on the twenty-fourth day of the second lunar month of the fourth year of

the reign of King Chungnyeol (1278), appointing Jeong In-gyeong as Lord

of minor fifth rank. Implement [this order].40

The first is an appointment by the order of Royal Judgment tU, and the second is

by the order of Royal Comment T tJt. In the first case, the order was issued after

review of a Board's proposal (in this case the Board of Military Personnel). Thus,

we can conclude that the order of Royal Judgment meant the king's approval of a

proposal by his officials. On the other hand, the order of Royal Comment

apparently indicates the king's order issued on his own initiative; there is an emp

ty space preceding the word Comment. Leaving an empty space was a well-estab

lished practice to indicate respect for a superior in formal documents in China and

Korea. However, in this case it was merely a formality. In reality, the State

Council (or court aides and favored members of the king's entourage) had drafted

the proposal, which was authorized through the king's Comment. It was then

issued as a direct order of the king.

As discussed above, the order of Royal Comment or Royal Judgment was

issued directly to the Board of Civil or Military Personnel, without passing through

the State Council. But because the State Council had been bypassed, it was not an

official order. Thus before the order was issued, it had to go through a verification

procedure called Signature and Seal ~*~.

39 Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 70-84; #151= g~p I&~, lines 42-43.The original unabridged passage in Classical Chinese reads as follows: f~P 5t:~% 5t:*jJ:~~, ~.tp

C5C*+-if., -=-to) -tJj B!6~~, :g:~pJT*, ~.tp-tJj B, *U, ~~1/[#t'l'~rJ3lj~~m~~, 85fDr~m#l5t~o~.~, lli~~~~,~Bo

40 Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 70-84; #151= g~p IE.x~, lines 72-75.The original unabridged passage in Classical Chinese reads as follows: ~~P]%5t::tr~, DG~ C'iE',~£~if.,-=-tA)=JjB!6M,~5C+liif.~~)=Jj=+~B,r m,#I5t~,~~

ix:k=*:, ~~ C~~D ~. ~~jt~o ~J1~t~, lli*pg~~~, [nff!1j 0 J

- 21-

II Ii


829

The ancestor kings emulated the laws of ancient China when establishing

the institutions of mourning. When the country faced increasing difficul

ties, the Kings provisionally followed the institutions of the Tang and

Song Dynasties, and appointed officials before the period of the mourning

expired. However the person in mourning was appointed in a very care

ful way. First, the Board of Rites presented the plan to the king and re

ceived His Majesty's approval. Next, the Board of Rites notified the

State Council, and the State Council notified the Office of Remonstra

tors. The Office of Remonstrators then notified the Office of Censors.

Finally, the Office of Censors notified the Board of Rites and the Board

of Rites issued the order to the appointee to do his duty. 41

The above is the procedures of re-appointing a person who had resigned his

office to go into mourning. In this case, the Board of Rites, which oversaw the

appointment, first drafted a proposal and then issued it after receiving the King's

approval. The order, however, was not official because it had not passed through

the State Council. Thus the Board of Rites needed to follow the procedure of

sending a notice to the State Council, which in turn notified the Office of Remon

strator, which in turn notified the Office of Censors, and which in turn finally sent

a notice to the Board of Rites with approval. Only at this point did the Board of

Rites issue the order to the appointee.

This notification of the Office of Censor's approval was called a Notice of

Approval 1tR J1~. The procedure of verification concerning the appointment of offi

cials, what was called the Signature and Seal, must have followed the same proce

dures as described above. However, since in reality the State Councilors drafted

the proposals that would later be issued on the authority of the king's Comment,

the Office of Remonstrators and Censors, known in the aggregate as the Dae-gan

=~*, administered the key parts of the Signature and Seal verification process.

After completing the verification process, the Office of Censors sent a Notice

cheob 01~/ ~t!J / ~ti)42 of approval to the Board of Civil or Military Personnel. That

was the same form of notice from the Office of Censors that appeared above in

the Record of the Administrative Career of Jeong In-gyeong. The notice contained

a Warrant of Call to Court. Call to Court ~J1 ~~t was an order to report to the

palace, receive an official appointment, and then formally express gratitude to the

41 GS, 115:49a

42 h~ was used for upper-level officials, while ~ti/~~ was used for lower-level officials.

- 22-

II Ii


828

king. Warrant EB here refers to a certification issued from an administrative office.

It is the same usage as in a Warrant of Discharge jg~EB. Thus, the Warrant of Call

to Court was a permit to report to the court, to receive an appointment, and to

express thanks, issued from the Office of Censors, which oversaw review of offi

cials' misdeeds. After the "issuing and receiving" of the Warrant of Call to Court

(that was issued from the Office of Censors and was received by the Two

Boards), the Two Boards in charge made and issued a notice to the appointee,

saying "Implement [this order]" or "Report to the Court to receive an appoint

ment with thanks." A Record of Administrative Career was nothing more than a

register that recorded the contents of such notices of appointment.

Additionally, the word myeong ~ (01 ~ ---. 01 ~ , 01~) in the phrase --- B~~~ means "said" or "issued." The phrase as a whole meant "a notice said / issued

on a certain day." The phrase ---ffi$~m (~~.£) meant "because doing so." Both

are examples of idu :9! ~j, the transcription of native Korean words and names,

syllable by syllable, in Chinese characters. The use of idu suggests that the docu

ment was not an official document of the King, but an abbreviated form of a notice

issued from a governmental office.

The document used to issue a Warrant of Call to Court ~}J ~At EB was called a

Notice of Call to Court ~}J ~At #~ (or ~At #~ for short). It is likely that the Two

Boards issued the Notice of Call to Court. The Two Boards, it will be remem

bered, received Royal Comments and Royal Judgments directly from the king, as

was suggested in the above episode of King Myeongjong. So it is natural enough

that the Two Boards issued the Notice, which conveyed the order.

Late during Goryeo period, however, the Two Boards did not issue the

Notice of Call to Court. Instead, it was issued by the Secretary Board of the Privy

Council 11ft !{IT ~1G jI~ g m, which oversaw communication between the king and his

officials.

Recently government posts are an admixture of prescribed positions and

temporary extra positions. 43 But the Notice of Call to Court ~At #~ was

issued only with the signature of the Clerk of the Privy Council £1~'§,

without a seal on it. I fear that in the future they will certainly be forged.

Please order the Board of Civil Personnel and the Board of Military Per

sonnel to issue appointment letters that are affixed with seals and

43 The Goryeo dynasty, in its last years, made many extra positions with no actual duties andsalaries to reward feats of arms. They were called cheomseol-jik i~~~~tt

- 23-

II Ii


827

signatures. 44

As is clearly stated in the passage above, the Notice of Call to Court was

issued by a clerk of (the Secretary Board of) the Privy Council, Danghugwan ~1k

'g. We can corroborate this fact through two "Letters of Appointment for Yi Ja

su" $-=f111f, which are dated the second year and fifteenth years of King Sin U :$jfr~ (1376 and 1382).

The Warrant of Call to Court was issued and received, by the Notice of

An Cheon-su, Chief Clerk of the Office of Censors, on a certain day of

the tenth lunar month in the ninth year of the Hongwu reign (1376), re

garding the order of Royal Comment issued on the twelfth day of the

tenth lunar month of the Hongwu reign (1376), appointing Yi Ja-su as

Lord of the major third rank, Director of the Astronomical Observatory.

Implement [this order]. Seal. All has been collated.

Temporary Clerk. Clerk of Privy Council (Signature).45

Collated copy of Warrant of Call to Court kept in the office:

The Warrant of Call to Court was issued and received, by the Notice of

Choe Ja-un, Chief Clerk of the Office of Censors, on a certain day of the

eleventh lunar month of the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1382),

regarding the order of Royal Comment issued on the twenty-fifth day of

the third lunar month in the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1382),

appointing Yi Ja-su as Lord of major third rank, Supreme Director of the

Office of Rituals. Implement [this order]. Seal. All has been collated.

(Signature) (Signature)46

44 GS, 115:40b45 Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 93-94, *-=f1J1l1~JE:JL:¥¥J1~~t~. The

original text in Classical Chinese follows below:

m.m•• *~. mJE:JL:¥+~B~~,mJE:

JL:¥~~+=B,T ~*-=f~~~g*~.~.~

.~~.~, ffi~~~[~J,~fio~o~/$

fl~o 1it1~'§ ffJI46 Han'guk godae jungse gomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 95-96, *-=f1J1l1~JE:+1L:¥¥J1~~thl.

The original passage in Classical Chinese appears below.mL¥J1~t~;r$

m.m••m-=f~ mJE:+1L:¥+-~ B~~,mJE:

+1L:¥~~~1LB,T ~*-=f~~~.*~·~A.

~~~.~, ffi~~~~,~fio~o~/$

(~~R)ffJI (~~R) ffJI

- 24-

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826

The above records are copies of original documents that were issued to Yi Ja

su, ancestor of the famous literatus Yi Hwang $i3'b (Toegye 31!i~) of the Joseon

dynasty. The originals, however, have not survived. The two documents have

nearly identical formats, but the former lacks a title. It is entitled "Letter of

Appointment" i!f~ in the still extant ]inbo Yi Genealogy ~_$~i!t~ti, in which

the original was transcribed. Strictly speaking, however, it is not a Letter of

Appointment.

In contrast, the latter document is entitled "Collated copy of Warrant of Call

to Court kept in the office" P] J:.~J1 ~~tffi'~$ and is likely an original. Sasang P] J:.means "kept in preparation in an office." Sa ffi'~ means an official warrant ffi'~ R.Finally, jun $ means "collated." Thus, sasang josa sajun P] J:.~J1~~tffi'~$ means a

collated copy of a Warrant of Call to Court ~J1 ~~t that was kept [for reference/on

record] in a given office. Therefore, the above documents were not Letters of

Appointment in a strict sense. They were just copies of Warrants of Call to Court.

We must now tum to the office that issued the documents. The title of Dang

hugwan £1&'§ clearly indicates that they were issued from the Privy Council. In

the administrative system of the Chinese Song dynasty, Danghugwan (or Tang

houguan in Chinese) referred to one of the clerks of the State Council. However,

in the Goryeo dynasty, Danghugwan was subordinate to the Privy Council, not to

the State Council. It was a civil position of the major seventh rank, and it control

led the flow of documents that were submitted to or issued from the Privy Coun

cil. Two men were to hold the post of Danghugwan, so the two signatures in the

above document of 1382 must have been the signatures of Danghugwan, the

clerks of the Privy Council.

In the document from 1376, however, there is only one signature of a clerk

of the Privy Council. The other person who should have signed the document,

designated here by the term Gwonji 11~D, may have been a junior person with in

sufficient seniority who filled the vacancy as temporary clerk. If this is the case,

however, the position of Gwonji should have been subordinate to the position of

Danghugwan in rank. Thus, it is strange that the signature of Gwonji should

appear above that of Danghugwan. Perhaps the two titles were originally arranged

horizontally, from the lesser position to the higher one, but were rearranged into

a vertical format when they were later transcribed.

Additionally, the word "seal" ~n at the end of the document should have indi

cated where the official seal was to be affixed. However, as documents from later

periods show, it was often simply a marker to designate the conclusion of the

document. Thus in idu ~~j, it is read as ggeut ~ or "the end." The phrase "All

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825

has been collated" (literally "chant aloud/collate") P~/$ comes from a procedure

of collation whereby one person read the text aloud and another collated it against

the original text. Under the phrase of "All has been collated," there might have

originally been some notation of the position and surname of the minor clerks who

supervised the preparation of the document. 47

In any case, these Letters of Appointment for Yi ]a-su had signatures of the

officials of the issuing office and can be regarded as a copy of the original docu

ment that had been issued to the appointee. The signatures were those of Dang

hugwan, the Clerks of the Privy Council, so the issuing office of the document

was undoubtedly the Privy Council.

Still, why was the Notice of Call to Court issued from the Privy Council, not

from the Two Boards? To understand this point, we must first quickly review the

formation of the Personnel Authority (jeong-bang 1&1*) during the period of Mili

tary Dictatorship and the changes in the personnel administration system that it

entailed.

Section 4Formation of the Personnel Authority

As noted above, State Councilors had a certain authority in appointing upper

level officials, that is officials of the fifth rank and above with the exceptions of

some lower-rank officials. 48 However, they faced severe challenges from members

of the king's entourage and court aides, who as we have seen, were involved in

the arbitrary issuing of Royal Comments of King Myeongjong ~* during the ear

ly period of the Military Dictatorship. In a sense this may be said to have heralded

the establishment of the Personnel Authority IEJ( 1*. The Personnel Authority,

established by the elder and junior Choes (Choe Chung-heon ~,'iE',I-x and Choe Yi

~IIEt), would completely strip the State Council and Two Boards of their authority

in the personnel administration of upper and lower level officials.

Many scholars have examined the Personnel Authority, and recently Gim

Chang-hyeon :i:~ Jf has published an excellent monograph entitled A Study of the

47 We can find a seal stamped on the signatures of clerks who were in charge of collation in thefollowing document. It suggests the original form of "Gn ... IJ~ / $." See Han'guk godae jungsegomunseo yeongu, volume one, pp. 373-403. 11~ffrijfr±%l1:~.

48 These exceptions included the Associate Section Chief of the major sixth rank in the Department of State Affairs ~J}~~, Censors of junior sixth rank in the Office of Censors ~~1fEP5t:, Remonstrators of senior and junior sixth rank R]gt... JIB, and so on.

- 26-

II Ii


824

Personnel Authority during the late Goryeo Period ~K1&~Jjn;tm1i1fJE.49 However,

my understanding of the appointment of regular participants of court rites, which

was under the authority of State Councilors, differs substantially from earlier

scholarship. Below, I re-examine the formation of the Personnel Authority with a

special focus on how it changed the system of personnel administration and letters

of appointment of the early Goryeo period.

The beginning of Personnel Authority can be traced back to when Choe

Chung-heon held offices on both the Board of Civil and Board of Military Person

nel and monopolized the authority of appointment for the lower-level officials.

He held the additional post of Chief Director of the Board of Civil Per

sonnel, concurrently with the post of Chief Director of the Board of

Military Personnel. Thus in the morning he went to the Board of Military

Personnel; in the afternoon, he went to the Board of Civil Personnel. In

this way, he appointed all officials of the civil and military services. 50

Choe Chung-heon, the Chief Secretary of Privy Council, held an addition

al post of Chief Director of the Board of Civil Personnel, concurrently

with the post of Chief Director of the Board of Military Personnel. He

took charge of the appointment of all lower level officials of the civil and

military services. He frequently attended the court, and he was always

accompanied by armed guards. 51

As noted in the passages above, Choe Chung-heon participated in the admin

istrative evaluation process in the Two Boards of Civil and Military Personnel, and

concurrently held the post of the Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, which con

trolled the flow of royal orders. However, the Two Boards compiled the list of

prospective appointments only for lower-level officials. Thus until he was

appointed State Councilor, he could not officially take part in the appointment of

the higher-level officials, which was the purview of the State Council.

49 Gim Chang-hyeon ~~ If, Goreyo hugi jeong-bang yeon-gu [A Study of the Personnel Authorityduring the late Goryeo PeriorIJ ?§tj R ik JJj 1&m1iff J'E (Seoul: Goryeo Daehakkyo Minsok MunhwaYeonguwon ?§tjR:*¥tx:~~Jtit1iffJ'E~1C, 1998).

50 GS, 129:13a51 Goryeo-sa jeolyo [Concise History of the Goryeo Dynasty], hereafter abbreviated as GSjY, 14:5a.

(a facsimile edition, Gakushu-in Daigaku T6y6 Bunka Kenkyfisho ¥ wt ~1C :*¥ *i-¥: Jt it 1iff J'E JiJT,1960)

- 27-

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823

Next in 1202, Choe made a list of appointments at his private residence, not

at the office of the Two Boards, in order to save the trouble of going back and

forth between the Two Boards.

Choe Chung-heon made a list of appointments at his residence for the

first time, consulting only No Wan, a court aide who currently held the

position of Associate Section Chief of the Board of Civil Personnel. When

he had presented the list to the King, His Majesty merely gave an

affirmative nod. The Supreme Directors of the Two Boards merely re

viewed it at the hall of State Council without discussion. 52

Choe made a list of appointments at his private residence, consulting only his

cronies and effectively excluding his colleagues of the Two Boards from the proc

ess of personnel appointment. Supreme Directors of the Two Boards, which posi

tions the Chief and Second State Councilors held as routine duties, could do noth

ing but follow Choe's directions.

It was not only the appointment list of the lower-level officials that Choe com

piled in his residence. He also drafted the appointment list of upper-level officials.

Originally the State Councilors should have performed this function. However, as

noted above, their authority was gradually usurped by the royal aides in court, in

cluding Choe. Thus, Choe could compile an appointment list of upper-level officials

by himself and implement it using the name and authority of the King.

However, he could not manage the enormous business of appointment alone.

Some literati, friends, and court aides such as No Wan, who currently held the

position of Associate Section Chief of the Board of Civil Personnel, assisted Choe

as his private bureaucracy. This is the origin of the Personnel Authority.

Choe submitted the appointment lists directly to the king, taking advantage of

his position as Chief Secretary of the Privy Council. After receiving a royal order

of Comment or Judgment, the appointment lists were sent to the Two Boards to

be put into practice, thus bypassing the State Council. In such away, the making

of the appointment lists of both of the upper and lower-level officials fell beyond

the reach of officials of the State Council and the Two Boards. No one could take

part in the business of personnel administration without joining Choe's party at his

residence.

Of course, the Two Boards were still in charge of the basic business of per-

52 GS, 129:14a-b; GSjY, 14:10b

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822

sonnel administration, such as compiling and handling the Records of Official

Career and issuing the Notice of Call to Court. However, control over the

appointments themselves was in the hands of Choe Chung-heon and his party.

Later, Choe was promoted to the State Council as Associate State Councilor

$ ~O IEJ(-$, concurrently holding the post of the Chief Director of the Two Boards

and the office of Supreme Director of the Office of Censors. In the sixth year of

the reign of King Sin-jong (1203), he was promoted to Vice-Director of the De

partment of Secretariat, State Councilor, while holding the post of Chief Director

of the Board of Civil Personnel concurrently. 53 Thus despite his promotion to State

Councilor, Choe never abandoned his position of the Board of Civil Personnel.

Now, as a State Councilor, he held complete authority over personnel administra

tion of upper-level officials, while as Chief Director of the Board of Civil Person

nel, he oversaw the appointment of lower-level officials. Thus, he held sway over

the personnel administration of the entire dynasty. All official positions of the State

had become appointments proposed in Choe's private residence by his private

bureaucracy.

Choe's son, Choe Yi ~IIEt, succeeded to the system of personnel administra

tion begun by his father and controlled from the Choes' private residence. In the

eighth year of the reign of King Gojong (1221), Choe Yi was appointed Associate

State Councilor $ ~O 1&-$, concurrently holding the post of the Chief Director of

the Two Boards and the office of Supreme Director of the Office of Censors. He

thus monopolized authority over the personnel administration. It was in this con

text that he came to establish the Personnel Authority in his private residence.

In the twentieth year of the reign of King Gojong (1225), the officials re

ported to the Choe Yi's residence and presented their Records of Official

Career to him. Sitting arrogantly, Choe Yi accepted them. The lower

level officials from the sixth rank and below bowed to him twice in the

front yard of the hall. They lay on their faces and they never looked up

at his face. Thus he established the Personnel Authority in his private

residence and selected literati to serve there ....He made a draft plan of

appointment of officials and presented a List of Appointment by Royal

Comment iJt § to the King. His Majesty simply approved and issued it

[without comment or discussion]. 54

53 GS, 129:15b; GSjY, 14:15a54 GS, 129:31b; GSjY, 15:34b.

- 29-

II Ii


821

The lower-level officials from the sixth rank and below took such a servile

attitude, because the Two Boards effectively controlled the appointment of them.

The King had merely assented to its proposal through issuing the order of Judg

ment. In other words, Choe Yi determined the lower-level officials' appointment

and dismissal.

On the other hand, in theory the king, through the issue of his Royal Com

ment, determined the appointment list of upper-level officials. In reality, however,

it was determined on the suggestion of the State Councilors, or the favorites and

aides in the court. The List of Appointment by Royal Comment tll: § noted above

referred to the list of determined appointments, or the draft plan of it. Choe Yi

had stripped the authority to draw up these lists from fellow members of the State

Council and from the king's favorites and aides in court. Whereas previously King

Myeongjong himself, with the aid of his favorites and aides in court, had issued

such appointment lists, Choe Yi had reduced King Gojong to nothing more than a

puppet who merely confirmed after the fact appointment lists already determined

by him.

Thus, through their control over the power of appointment, Choe Chung

heon and Choe Yi established the Personnel Authority. Below, I examine the im

pact of the Personnel Authority on the system of Letters of Appointment.

The order of Royal Comment, whether it was made on the suggestion of the

State Councilors, the king's favorites and court aides, or the staff of the Personnel

Authority in the Choes' residence, was issued as an order that represented the

king's informal intentions.

However, if the order did not go through the State Council, it could not be

regarded as the king's formal intentions. Therefore, if necessary, the king ordered

the State Council to take a prescribed procedure of making a Letter of Constitu

tional or Imperial Appointment (i.e. the Grand or Junior Letter of Appointment)

which represented the king's formal intentions.

Alternatively, the king ordered the State Councilor the Board of Civil Per

sonnel to issue the Notice of Constitutional or Royal Appointment, respectively,

which also represented the king's formal intentions. Lastly, if it was a less impor

tant item, the king sent it directly to the Two Boards to issue the Notice of Call

to Court, which simply represented the king's informal intentions.

These procedures do not seem to have changed at all as a result of the

establishment of Personnel Authority. However, when the order of Royal Com

ment or Royal Judgment was issued directly in the abbreviated format, the officials

in charge became the Clerks of the Privy Council rather than the Two Boards.

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820


SecretaryBoard of

""'---

the PrivyCouncil

Personnel-Authority


Royal

L+-_J_u_d_g_m_e_n_t--+ Issuing a Notification ofthe Royal Judgment

II

Secretary RoyalBoard of Comment Issuing a Notification of

L.....-_---! the Privy I-ri------...;....----- the Royal Comment

Council

(See fig.4.)

The Two Board's loss of power over personnel appointment after the estab

lishment of the Personnel Authority is probably linked closely to the fact it had be

come nothing more than a repository for such basic personnel materials as the Re

cords of Official Career. The Personnel Authority determined the contents of the

orders of Royal Comment and Royal Judgment. Thus it would have been natural

that the notice of appointment be issued from the Personnel Authority. The Per

sonnel Authority, however, was not an official administrative organization, but

rather a private staff housed in the Choe residence. The Secretaries of the Privy

Council, who presided over communications between the King and the officials,

took over the affairs of the Personnel Authority. This explains why the Clerks

under the direction of the Secretaries of the Privy Council made and issued the

Notice of Call to Court. It also explains why one of the Secretaries of Privy Coun

cil always took part in the personnel administration in the Personnel Authority as aSecretary of the Privy Council in Charge of Personnel IEft/~jt(§:. 55

55 GS, 75:3a.

- 31-

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819

It is worth noting that while the Choes had established the Personnel Author

ity, the Personnel Authority did not disappear after the collapse of the Choe Mili

tary Dictatorship. Instead the Personnel Authority was relocated into the royal

palace, next to the king's daily residence, where it survived as a de facto state

bureau. 56 In other words, the king now oversaw the Personnel Authority and pre

sided over the personnel administration with his private staff, not with the officials

of the Two Boards.

Of course even before the establishment of Personnel Authority, the King

had in theory presided over the personnel administration of civil and military offi

cials. However, in fact the State Councilors and the Two Boards had drawn up the

appointment lists of upper and lower-level officials. Thus with the exception of the

highest-ranking officials (those of the third rank and above, whose appointment fell

under the purview of Royal Prerogative), the appointment or dismissal of officials

did not necessarily reflect directly the king's personal wishes. The overuse of the

order of Royal Comment during the reign of King Myeongjong created a prece

dent for arbitrary appointment by the king, powerful ministers, or royal favorites

who relied on the sovereign's authority. The despotic tone of the period led to the

concentration of all power in the hands of the elder and junior Choes, who estab

lished the irregular system of the Personnel Authority.

When the Personnel Authority was relocated to the royal place, in a matter of

speaking it became an official personnel organization under the direction of King

himself. This suggests that such an irregular system of personnel perfectly match

ed the despotic tenor of the late Goryeo period.

Once recognized as a formal personnel authority of the state, the Personnel

Authority would never be abolished, despite repeated efforts at reform in the

name of the restoration of the "institutions of the dynastic ancestors."

For example in the second year of the reign of King Chungseon ,'iE'" g r(1310), the king turned responsibility for the appointment for civil and military offi

cials over to the Two Boards and ordered the Prime and Second State Councilors

to preside over it. 57 To put the matter more clearly, this was an attempt to revive

an older system whereby the Two Boards, in consultation with the Prime and

Second State Councilors who concurrently held the office of Supreme Director of

the Two Boards, compiled the appointment list for the lower-level officials, and

the Prime and Second State Councilors, in consultation with other State Council-

56 GS, 105:1a; GSjY, 17:43a-b.57 GS, 75:4a.

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818

ors, made the appointment list for the upper-level officials.

However in reality, using the king's authority, a few favorite aides monopo

lized the authority of appointment by holding the office of the Two Boards concur

rently with other offices. As a result, the Prime and Second State Councilors had

no effective say in the personnel administration, and the business of personnel

administration was dominated by the king's favorites. For example, in the fourth

year of the reign of King Chungseon (1312), the king ordered Gwon Bu tlif, the

Supreme Director of the Board of Military Personnel, to make an appointment list

for lower level military officials (from the seventh rank and below). 58 Similarly, in

the first year of the reign of King Chungsuk ,'it',,:if.=E (1314), his father King

Chungseon ordered Sin Cheon $1AA and An Gyu $:fi, Section Chief and Associ

ate Section Chief of the Board of Civil Personnel, respectively, to draw up an

appointment list (for the lower-level officials, perhaps) for civil service posts. 59

Gwon, Sin, and An were men who enjoyed the particular favor of the king and

who monopolized the authority of personnel administration. Therefore, efforts at

reform were defeated. In the seventh year of the reign of King Chungsuk (1320),

just ten years after its abolishment, the Personnel Authority was restored. 60

In the eleventh lunar month of the year King Chungmok ,'it'"f~.=E came to the

throne (1344), he ordered the Two Boards to select candidates for posts of the

"fifth rank and below" and present the list to the throne. 61 This process of select

ing and reporting was called jeon-ju ~~*; each official of the Two Boards recom

mended the candidates and selected a certain person by vote before reporting to

the King. 62 Based on the lists put forward by the Two Boards, the king would

then issue an order of Royal Comment confirming posts of the fifth and sixth ranks

and issue an order of Royal Judgment confirming posts of the seventh rank and

below.

In this case, the category "the fifth rank and below" was equivalent to the

mid- and lower level posts graded as "the sixth rank and below" according to the

early Goryeo system of bureaucratic rankings. 63 Thus, it was an effort to restore

the system of personnel administration in which the Two Boards drew up the

58 GSjY, 23:30a.59 GSjY, 24:4a.

60 GS, 75:4a; GSjY, 24:17b.61 GS, 75:4a.

62 GS, 75:1a-b; GSjY, 12:37a-b.

63 Yagi Takeshi **~, "K6rai Eis6ch6 ni okeru Ishikettei no K6z6," ?§tjM~*~J1~=.t3 ~t .Q ~J~'"

i*5EO)tl~, Shirin Uournal of Historical researches], 9=.** 76-2 (1993): p. 133.

- 33-

II Ii


817

appointment lists for the lower-level officials. One month after the king proclaimed

the order noted above, the Personnel Authority was officially abolished, and the

personnel administration of the officials (of the lower-level, perhaps) was turned

over to the Two Boards. It seems likely that in consultation with other State

Councilors, the Prime and Second State Councilors (who concurrently held the

office of Supreme Director of the Two Boards) took charge of appointing upper

level officials. However, the reform did not last; the very next year (1345), Per

sonnel Authority was restored. 64

In the first year of his reign (1352), King Gongmin ~~~.=E (1352), eager to

reform dynastic administration, made a clear promise to abolish the Personnel

Authority.65 In the fifth year of his reign (1356), the king issued a Royal Order ex

pressing his strong intention to abolish the Personnel Authority.

The powerful minister Choe established the Personnel Authority. How

can we say it was in accordance with the proper practice of appointing a

person openly in Court? From this day forward, it should be permanently

abolished. In regard to officials of the third rank and below, I will consult

with the State Councilors about their appointment and dismissal. In re

gard to officials of the seventh rank and below, the Boards of Civil and

Military Personnel will draft lists of appointment and present them to

me. 66

The contents of this Royal Order merit close attention because they detail

how appointments were to be made after the abolishment of the Personnel Au

thority. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Royal Order, the king was to

directly appoint officials of the second rank and above. Regardless of whether the

Personnel Authority was in place or not, the appointment of the highest officials

had always constituted one of the king's most critical prerogatives. Further, the

stratum of "the second rank and above" during the late Goryeo period corre

sponded to that of "the third rank and above" in the bureaucratic ranking system

of the early Goryeo period, whose appointment had been a royal prerogative.

Secondly, in consultation with the State Councilors, the king was to appoint

officials of "the third rank and below." The stratum of "the third rank and below"

64 GS, 37:7a, 75:4a.65 GS, 75:4b; GSjY, 26-9b.66 GS, 75:5b-6a.

- 34-

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816

corresponded to "the fourth rank and below" of the early Goryeo period. This

suggests that early during the Goryeo dynasty, the State Councilors had in fact

appointed the officials of "the fourth rank and below," or the regular participants of

court rites.

Lastly, the Two Boards were to appoint the officials of "the seventh rank and

below." The stratum of "the seventh rank and below" corresponded to "the sixth

rank and below" of the early Goryeo period, i.e., the irregular participants of

court rites. This would suggest an effort to restore institutions of an earlier time

when the Two Boards in effect appointed lower-level officials.

Therefore, the abolishment of the Personnel Authority in 1356, as well as

other reforms made this year, strongly suggest that King Gongmin wished to re

store the "old institutions of the reign of King Munjong Jt*" of the early Goryeo

period. Following this Royal Order of King Gongmin, the Two Boards again took

charge of the personnel administration (presumably for lower-level officials).67 The

reform, however, proved to be of short duration. Under the new name "Chamber

of Memorandums" ~-=fm, the Personnel Authority was restored shortly later.

In the first year of the reign of King Sin U (1375), the Office of Censors re

quested that the Chamber of Memorandum be abolished and that the Two Boards

split responsibility for the personnel administration (probably for the lower-level

officials). Although the King approved the request, there is no evidence that the

plan was ever implemented. 68 In fact, the Personnel Authority continued to func

tion during the reign of King Sin U. Powerful ministers and royal favorites often

held the post of Supervisor of Personnel Authority 1~~)!J IEJtm(generally concur

rently with other offices) and monopolized authority over personnel administration.

Overwhelmed by these powerful ministers and royal favorites, Prime and Second

State Councilors (who were in charge of the Supervisor of the Personnel Author

ity as routine duties in those days) were unable to exercise the influence over the

personnel administration that they should have. 69

Thus, although the Personnel Authority was repeatedly abolished, each time

it was completely restored. As noted briefly above, that was because the Person

nel Authority was a product of the fundamentally despotic character of the late

Goryeo period.

The Personnel Authority proved extremely congenial to the king (and to

67 GS, 75:6a; GSjY, 26:46b.68 GS, 75:6b; GSjY, 30:10a.69 GSjY,30:17b.

GSjY, 32:5a-b.

- 35-

II Ii


815

powerful ministers and royal favorites at court). This is clear from the following

words of Jo II-sin t1i B *Jf, a powerful minister at King Gongmin's court, who re

quested the re-establishment of the system of Personnel Authority after it had

been temporarily abolished at the beginning of King Gongmin's reign.

Many powerful ministers and court favorites from the Mongol Yuan

dynasty who wish to have their kinsmen appointed to official posts have

already petitioned Your Majesty. They have also requested the same of

me. At present, however, Your Majesty has ordered the Boards of Civil

and Military Personnel to oversee personnel administration. I fear that

the business of personnel administration would suffer many delays if they

were in charge, because they rigidly adhere to the letter of the law.

Thus, I ask that the Personnel Authority be re-established and the

appointment lists be made and issued from the Court. 70

As the words of Jo II-sin show, the appointment (of lower-level officials,

perhaps) under the Two Boards tended to be inflexible because they stuck to the

official procedures of personnel administration. It was far more convenient for the

king (and for powerful ministers and royal favorites aides), who wished to expand

royal authority, to establish in the palace the Personnel Authority, which was

directly subordinate to the king and which was free from bureaucratic interfer

ence, thus leaving the business of personnel administration in the hands of a few

powerful ministers and royal favorites, men selected by the king.

Therefore the Personnel Authority would not be abolished until the despotic

character of the times changed. It had begun as a private administrative organ of

the Military Dictatorship of the Choe family. However, it outlived not only the

Choe Dictatorship but the Goryeo dynasty itself. As kings of the late Goryeo

struggled to overcome both foreign and domestic challenges, the period grew in

creasingly despotic. It was not until the fifth year of King Taejong ** of the new

Joseon dynasty (1405), that the Personnel Authority was finally abolished.

70 GS, 131:4b-Sa; GSjY, 26:11b-12a.

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II Ii


814

Concluding Remarks

Prospects for the System of Personnel Administration during the Joseon

Dynasty

After the Goryeo dynasty had surrendered to the Mongol Empire, the De

partments of Secretariat and Chancellery were consolidated into a new Depart

ment of Chancellery (~~ft J1f, later renamed tt~ ~~ftP] or r~ T J1f), to which the

Department of State Affairs was annexed. The new State Council was composed

of the upper directors of the Department of Chancellery.

Because it had been based on the previous administrative system of the

Three Departments, Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appointment (i.e. Grand

or Junior Letters of Appointment) could no longer function in the same way. In

stead they were replaced by Royal Letters of Appointment (gwangyo '§~)(), which

were issued according to the King's Instruction (wangji 3:. 'g). In the Veritable Re

cords of the Joseon Dynasty appears the following explanation.

The King revised the format of the Letters of Appointment. Officials of

the first to fourth rank were appointed by the King's Instructions; the

Written Appointments were called Royal Letters of Appointment. 71

However, prior to that in 1392, when Yi Bang-won $~~ (who would later

reign as King Taejong ** of the Joseon dynasty) was appointed Academician of

the Privy Council *TIli1JtJj£, his father Yi Seong-gye $fflGt1 (i.e. the founder of

the Joseon dynasty) was said to have ordered his aides to read aloud the Royal

Letter of Appointment again and again, listening to it with joy. Therefore, during

the late Goryeo period, the new system had already been implemented. 72

Perhaps the system of Royal Letters of Appointment was adopted as a re

placement for the abolished system of Grand or Junior letters of Appointment after

the Goryeo dynasty had surrendered to the Mongol Empire. It seems likely that

the name Royal Letter of Appointment gwan-gyo '§~)( derived from the former

term gwan-go '§~!. The court changed the character go ~! to gyo ~)(.

71 joseon Wangjo Sillok ~}J~,f..=f.~}J. *~ [Veritable Records of the joseon Dynasty], hereafterabbreviated as jSSL Taejo 2:10b. (a facsimile edition, Seoul: Guksa Pyeonchan Wiwonhoe ilst:*i~~~fr, 1955-58).72 Yongbi-eocheon-ga ~~:m:{~P7(~X [Song of Dragons Flying in Heaven] (a facsimile edition, Seoul:

Asea Munhwasa El*ffiElJt1tffi±, 1973), 9:32b-33a.

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813

In the administrative system of the Yuan Mongol Empire, upper-level officials

from the first to fifth ranks (which belonged to the category of Lords), were

appointed by direct imperial order, the Imperial Instruction g iff. 73 The Written

Appointment conveying the Imperial Instruction was authorized only by the

Emperor's Seal and did not bear the signatures of State Councilors. 74 In the same

way, the Royal Letters of Appointment were authorized only by the King's Seal

and did not bear the signatures of the State Councilors. Thus, it seems probable

that the Goryeo system of Royal Letters of Appointment was adopted from the

system of the Imperial Instruction of the Mongol Empire.

The same passage of the Veritable Records of the ]oseon Dynasty noted above

provides the rest of the explanation.

Officials from the fifth to ninth ranks were appointed through the Depart

ment of Chancellery, which received the order of the King. The Written

Appointment was called a Notice of Royal Appointment ~~~~.75

In the bureaucratic system of the Mongol Yuan Empire, officials from the

sixth to ninth ranks were appointed on the basis of a draft plan compiled by the

State Councilors, and the Written Appointment (or Notice of Imperial Appointment

Wx~~) was issued with the signatures of the State Councilors. 76 Thus, the Goryeo

dynasty also adopted the system of the Notice of Imperial Appointment and called

it the Notice of Royal Appointment, changing the character Imperial WX to the

character Royal ~~.

Therefore, the system of the Royal Letters of Appointment or the Notice of

Royal Appointment did not appear ex nihilo in the first year of the Joseon dynasty

in 1392. Rather it represented adjustments to an existing system. Concretely

speaking, the Royal Letters of Appointment (which had been issued in appointing

State or Privy Councilors) were now issued in appointing officials of the fourth

rank and above. The Notice of Royal Appointment, which had been issued from

the Privy Council, was now issued from the Department of Chancellery.

In fact, the Personnel Authority (which was called the Office of Royal Seals at

73 "Monograph on Recruitment," Yuan shi 5C!3E. [Official History of the Yuan Dynasty], (revisedand punctuated edition, Peking: Zhonghua Shuju q:t.=i=JEU, 1976), juan 83, p. 2064.

74 Li xue zhi nan ~~1§'1¥J [Guidance for the Chancellery] (Taibei: Wenhai Chubanshe Jtr~tBJtOC

mi, 1979), p. 20.75 jSSL, Taejo 2:10b.76 Li xue zhi nan [Guidance for the Chancellery], p. 20.

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812

the time) still oversaw personnel administration. Thus, the Personnel Authority

was to compile the appointment list for officials of the fourth rank and above be

fore the king issued a Royal Comment and sent it to the Department of Chancel

lery, which made and issued the Royal Letters of Appointment. The Personnel

Authority also created appointment lists for officials of the fifth rank and below be

fore the king gave an order of Royal Comment regarding officials of the fifth to

sixth ranks, or an order of Royal Judgment regarding officials of the seventh rank

and below. These orders were sent to the Department of Chancellery, and the

Department of Chancellery made a Notice of Royal Appointment after reporting to

the Office of Censors and receiving its verification (or Signatures and Seals **!).Therefore, this reform was intended to ensure that officials from the fourth

rank and above were appointed by the Direct Appointment of the king, thus

bypassing the Office of Censor's verification. In other words, the despotic power

of the king was strengthened even beyond that of the Goryeo dynasty. The range

of officials who received Royal Letters of Appointment subsequently underwent a

complicated series of changes,77 but in the end, as the Great Code of Administra

tion *!~ --)(~ indicates, the court decided on officials "from the fourth rank and

above."

Additionally, when in 1405 the Personnel Authority was abolished, its duties

fell to the Two Boards of Civil and Military Personnel. Thus, upper-level officials,

previously appointed by the State Councilors, were now also subject to the Two

Boards' authority. At that time too, the old custom that the Prime and Second

State Councilors concurrently hold the office of the Supreme Directors of the Two

Boards was abolished. In the bureaucratic reforms of that year, administrative au

thorities of the State Councilors were much reduced, and many of them were

transferred to the Six Boards A tr.78 These changes also indicate the suppression

of the State Councilors' powers and the reinforcement of the king's despotic pow

er.

The appointment of officials by Direct Appointment of the King had originally

been limited to the officials of the second rank and above, which corresponded to

the category of the Grand Lords of ancient China, or Officials in the Hall ~L 'g.

They were now to be selected from three candidates nominated by the Two

Boards.

77 Choe Seung-hui 1t:71~Pf~, joseon Chogi Eongwan Eollon Yeongu ~J1~,tfJJ:JtJj§'§ . §~1i1fJE

(Seoul: Seoul Daehakkyo Chulpanbu, 1976), pp. 52-60.78 jSSL, Taejong 9:1b-2a

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811

When a person was to be appointed in a certain position, the board in

charge wrote the names of three candidates to be selected, and pre

sented it to the King. The King drew a circle above the name of the one

to be appointed. This procedure was called "receiving a mark" and was

used in appointing officials of "the second rank and above. "79

As noted in the passage above, appointments by "receiving a mark" had orig

inally been limited to officials from the second rank and above, or the Officials in

the Hall. Therefore, in the main the Two Boards appointed the officials of the

third rank and below (although the third and fourth rank fell under the category of

Direct Appointment of the king in formality). Officials directly nominated by the

king among officials from the third rank and below were to be noted as selected

by Special Instruction ~:f ~ .80 However, this would suggest that normally the Two

Boards appointed officials of the third rank and below. On the other hand, officials

of the second rank and above should have been selected by Special Instruction.

Thus they did not need to be especially designated so.

However, with the consolidation of the sovereign's power, the range of posi

tions by "receiving a mark" steadily grew. For instance, according to a 1437 entry

of the Veritable Records of the ]oseon Dynasty, some members of the Office of

Censors and the Office of Remonstrators were appointed by "receiving a mark."

Similarly, information related to the administrative careers and characters of many

officials was submitted on a monthly basis to the king who selected by his mark

men to fill such offices as Mentors of the Prince, Supreme Directors of the gener

a1 offices, Academicians and Duty Scholars of the Academy of Literature, Secretar

y and Auditor of the State Council, Section Chiefs of the Six Boards and the City

Hall, Concurrent Directors and Section Chiefs of the Board of Punishment and the

Section of Slaves, Major and Minor Chief Clerks of Privy Council, Clerk of the

Office of Royal Relatives, and general officials from "fourth rank and above. "81

Thus officials of the fourth rank and above, and elite officials of the sixth rank

and above were almost entirely appointed by "receiving a mark" from the king. On

the other hand, officials of the fifth and sixth rank of general offices were formally

appointed by the order of Royal Comment, which was in reality based on the draft

plan made by the Two Boards. Lower-level officials were appointed by the order

79 jSSL, Sejong 1:13b80 jSSL, Sejong 78:17a81 jSSL, Sejong 78:27b

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810

of Royal Judgment, which was also decided on the basis of plans drafted by the

Two Boards.

Finally, let us briefly survey changes in the Letter of Appointment system

during the early Joseon dynasty, that is, the Royal Letters of Appointment or

Notice of Royal Appointment.

According to the reform of the Letters of Appointment system from the first

year of the reign of King Taejo (1392), officials of the fourth rank and above were

appointed with the Royal Letters of Appointment, which were composed in imun5t!Jt, a Chinese-style chancellery form of writing. In contrast, officials of the fifth

rank and below were appointed with a Notice of Royal Appointment, which was

composed in idu 5t!~j, Korean represented phonetically with Chinese characters.

The two Letters of Appointment for Kim Ji ~~ (issued in 1410) are examples of

the former,82 and the Notice of Call to Court from the Board of Military Personnel

(issued in 1409) is an example of the latter. 83

Perhaps it was after the abolishment of the Personnel Authority that the Two

Boards rather than the Department of Chancellery came to issue the Royal Let

ters of Appointment and the Notice of Royal Appointment (or Notice of Call to

Court). In 1411, the order of Royal Judgment tU was subsequently renamed Royal

Order ~~84 and in 1425, the order of King's Instruction, or wangji 3:. §" was re

named Royal Instruction, or gyoji ~~ §".85 Needless to say, the phrases "King's In

struction" and "Royal Judgment" in the Written Appointment were changed to

"Royal Instruction" and "Royal Order," respectively.

In the third year of the reign of King Sejo (1457), Chinese-style chancellery

writing, already standard for the Royal Letters of Appointment '§~~, was adopted

for use in the Written Appointment (or the Notice of Royal Appointment) for offi

cials of the fifth rank and below. The following passage from the Veritable Records

of the]oseon Dynasty provides details.

The Board of Civil Personnel reported to the King, saying "/mun is used

for Written Appointments for successful candidates in the Clerk Ex

amination, for the children of good families, and for Titles of Nobility for

the dead and living. However, idu continues to be used for Written

82 Chosenshi Henshukai ~A ftJ,f. se *11r~ if ed., Chosen Shiryo Shushin ~A ftJ,f. se *4 ~!i (Keijo:Chosen Sotokufu ~AftJ,f.*~1fJ1f, 1935-37). second series 2:6.

83 op.cit., first series 1:3.84 jSSL, Taejong 22:26b85 jSSL, Sejong 29:3b

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Appointments for officials of the fifth rank and below. It is very uncouth.

We request that from this point forward, imun be used." The King

approved [their request].86

This 1457 reform largely fixed the well-known format of Written Appoint

ments preserved in the Great Code of Administration. According to that formula

tion, officials of the fourth rank and above (or lords) were appointed by Direct

Appointment of the king and received Royal Letters of Appointment which were

made and issued from the Two Boards. In contrast, officials of the fifth rank and

below (or knights) were appointed on the basis of a draft plan compiled by the

Two Boards and received Notices of Royal Appointment which were also made

and issued from the Two Boards. Thus in the end, the line between Royal Letters

of Appointment and Notice of Royal Appointment had come full circle. It now re

sembled the system of Tang dynasty China, where officials of the fifth rank and

above (or lords) were appointed by the direct order of the Emperor and officials of

the sixth rank and below (or knights) were appointed on the basis of plans drafted

by the responsible authorities.

Under the Tang and early Goryeo, the State Councilors drew up the draft

plan of appointment for the upper-level officials (or the Regular Participant of

Court Rites). It was the royal prerogative in formality to make an appointment for

the upper-level officials. However, it was decided in reality on the basis of the

draft plan made by the State Councilors. In contrast, in the wake of the Personnel

Authority, under the Joseon dynasty, the power of the State Councilors was se

verely reduced and the King directly selected candidates nominated by the Two

Boards.

In these changes, we can perceive during the Joseon period a new level of

despotic royal authority reached through the absorption of the Goryeo period Per

sonnel Authority.

86 jSSL, Sejo 8:19b* I would like to make my acknowledgment to Dr. David Robinson of Colgate University for hishelpful advice on the revision of the original manuscript.

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Documents

Title Personnel Administration …...Goryeo dynasty of the format of the Letters of Constitutional or Imperial Appoint ment' such as the Letter of Appointment